At the commencement ceremony, doctoral candidates are individually recognized and hooded; bachelor and master graduates are recognized as a group at their seats.
Each college or school hosts their own degree celebrations, where bachelors and masters graduates are recognized by name and photographed on stage.
Get details on the Degree Celebrations >>
Graduation can be a complex event with many moving parts. Keep your big day as stress-free as possible with the information below.
Tickets Update
Please note: Only Doctoral graduates will be individually recognized and cross the stage at Commencement.
Have more tickets than you need?
All guests to Commencement require tickets to attend. Many students reserve the max number of tickets they can as a precaution, but will only actually use a few of them for their guests. If you received tickets to either Commencement or a Degree Celebration that you will no longer be needing, please return them as follows so that they may be redistributed to other guests:
To return your unneeded tickets:
- Locate your tickets in your Ticketmaster account.
- Click “Transfer Tickets.”
- Select each ticket you would like to transfer.
- Click “Continue.”
- Enter “GMU Event” in the Name field.
- Enter “gmuevent@gmu.edu” in the Email Address field.
- Click “Send.”
Commencement Details
At the commencement ceremony, doctoral candidates are individually recognized and hooded; bachelor and master graduates are recognized as a group at their seats.
As a reminder, tickets will be required for any guests of Mason graduates to enter EagleBank Arena for Commencement. Doors will open one hour prior to the start of the ceremonies. It is advisable to arrive at that time.
If EagleBank Arena reaches capacity, the overflow viewing area will be in the Concert Hall on Mason Pond Drive, across Patriot Circle from the arena. Shuttles will be available at the South Entrance to transport anyone needing assistance to the Concert Hall.
Barbara Humpton, president and CEO of Siemens, will be the featured speaker at George Mason University’s 2024 Spring Commencement.
Accessible Parking and Seating
For accessible parking and drop-off, please use the Roanoke River Road or Nottoway River Lane entrances off Braddock road to access Lot A. ADA parking is located in Lot A.
Seating in all sections of EagleBank Arena, Rows E, F, and G, are marked reserved for special needs. These rows are on the concourse level and are easy access seating without requiring the use of stairs. Ushers are stationed at each portal to assist with seating. Guests requiring special assistance may be seated with one other guest from their party in these easy-access rows. No advanced notice is necessary to use this seating option and, again, these seats are not ticketed or individually reservable.
- Wheelchair accessible seating is available in the four corner portals 4, 8, 13, and 17.
- Ushers are stationed at each portal to help with seating.
All graduation candidates should enter the EagleBank Arena through the lower level loading dock entrance. Doors will open one hour prior to each ceremony. Faculty marshals will be on hand to guide graduates to their major field of study seating area.
Not seeing the answer you need? Feel free to reach out to University Events: 703-993-2853 or gmuevent@gmu.edu